What If Dawn Was There When
by Original Dark Angel
Summary: Book of oneshots. Just up . . . Marshmallows. In the Fifth Season, Dawn tells Ben that she doesn’t like marshmallows because Buffy told her that they were monkey brains. So if Buffy told that to Dawn in the Third Season . . .
1. Dawn's Tea Party

**A/N: I know Dawn didn't exist until the Fifth Season, but what does she remember right before Buffy left? How come she's such good friends with Spike? I got curious, wanted to know more, so I wrote it myself. Not really a Buffy/Spike pairing, more of a Dawn and Spike Friendship pairing.**

**Disclaimer: Joss Whedon's characters . . . and sort of his plot. I just twisted it for my amusement.**

Dawnie sat down where Angelus indicated. "I brought you a playmate, Drusilla. You can play dolls with her, while I go kill the slayer."

Drusilla came over to her, excited. "Come play with me and Miss Edith, little girl." She took Dawn's hand and led her to a small tea table. "Here you go, my pet." She handed Dawnie the small doll in a red dress, much like the one Drusilla, herself wore. "This is Miss Edith." Solemnly Dawn rocked the doll back and forth as seemed expected of her. "Good girl."

"Now remember, Dru, no killing. I need her later." Dawn kept rocking the doll, as if that was the only thing that kept her alive. Angelus left, and Dawn was alone with the woman in red at an insane tea party.

"What's your name?" Dru cocked her head and stared at Dawn.

"Dawnie." Terrified, Dawn hugged the doll closer. "Please."

"Please what? Let you go? I can't do that. My Angel needs you. Be a good girl and play with Miss Edith. She wants to have a tea party." Dru knelt next to her and touched the girl's shoulder and hair.

Spike wheeled into the room. One of Dru's tea parties. He swept his gaze over the room, and the dolls, Dru, and the little girl, wait a bloody minute. He looked at the terrified child on the floor in the center of the room. A little girl with long brown hair and baby blue eyes, dressed in blue jeans and a green turtleneck, looking out of place among the old fashioned dolls. She sat under Dru's watchful gaze and fussing, rocking a doll as if she could do nothing else. Big tears dripped down her face. Even if he hadn't recognized her as the slayer's kid sister, he would have to rescue her from this horrifying experience. No child deserved this torment. "Dru, who's your friend?"

"My Angel brought her to me. Her name is Dawnie. Isn't she a good playmate?"

"Very good, pet. Can I see her?" Dru nodded. "Put the doll down and come here, niblet." He cursed inwardly. Niblet. Now that would comfort her, he thought sarcastically. "Come on." The girl stood up and gave the doll to Drusilla. She walked over to him obediently, stopping in front of him. Gently he tipped her face up, to look at her. "May I borrow your playmate, Dru? I need some help and she would serve very nicely. In fact, if Angelus can't destroy the world, she might be an excellent servant. So pretty and obedient."

"Of course, my Spike. I'm sixteen."

"Yes, you were. I brought you a drink," he gestured to the drugged wine bottle. "I'll return your playmate in a few minutes. Can you push my chair, niblet?" She nodded and obediently took him out into the garden, as he directed. "You're safe now, Dawn. I'll take you home." The girl flung herself into his lap and cried. Awkwardly he patted her back, until the tears slowed. "Come off it now. The sleeping potion won't hold out forever. We have to get out of here before she wakes up." He slowly stood, and lifted her into his arms. She fell asleep before he even went a block. Fortunately, it wasn't long before he encountered the slayer. He used a kick to knock out the cop, still holding a sleeping Dawn. "Whoa, slayer. Truce. I rescued your sister, so you don't stake me. Deal?"

"Dawnie." She reached for her sister. Gently he transferred his burden to her arms. "Dawnie, are you okay?"

Still half asleep, Dawn looked up at her sister. "You were wrong, Buffy. Spike is a good guy. He saved me. Drusilla had me. Angelus left me there, but Spike rescued me. Don't stake him, Buffy." She yawned and closed her eyes again.

"Here I'll take her. Poor mite's been through a lot. One of Drusilla's tea parties would tire anyone out or scare them to death. Your sister's brave though. Didn't scream or panic." He lifted the girl into his arms again. "Now to business. I want to save the world."

I'm safe, Dawn thought drowsily as she fell back asleep.

**Finite.**


	2. Dawn's Marshmallows

Disclaimer: Dawn, Drusilla, Angel, Buffy, Joyce, Willow,Xander,and Spike are all property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The only one that I truly wish otherwise would be Spike, but alas that is one wish that will never come true, so give credit where credit is due. The characters are theirs. The plot is mine.

A/N: What if Dawn Was There? fic. Third Season; Lover's Walk. The whole hot chocolate, repairing Spike's self-esteem thing would have been much more interesting with an eleven year old Dawn in the mix.

"Drusilla is pretty stupid to give you up, Spike," eleven-year-old Dawn piped up from her seat across the table. "You're the biggest, bestest, baddest vampire I know. She's the one who is missing out."

"From the mouths of babes, Spike," Joyce smiled.

Spike smiled back and pulled the little girl into his lap. "You're the sweetest little niblet, you are. Have you got any of those little marshmallow things for the cocoa?"

"Please, Mom! I love them too."

"Let me check." Joyce got up and found the marshmallows.

Topics changed to Dawn's schoolwork and a report on Shakespeare, who Spike claimed to have known personally. All three were startled when a ferocious Angel slammed into the screen door. Dawn screamed and buried her face in Spike's jacket, half-afraid that Angel could get in even without an invite. Spike wrapped a protective arm around Dawn and pulled Joyce far away from the door. "Best take the bit upstairs. He can't get in without an invite."

As soon as his favorite humans disappeared upstairs, Spike proceeded to taunt Angel, only to get slammed into the countertop when an irate slayer entered the house. Angel got his invite and they both had drawn stakes when Dawn reappeared and screamed her head off about Angel. Startled, Buffy released him, and Spike scooped up the trembling child.

"Sensitive kid sis, and you invite the vamp who almost ate her back into the house where she sleeps," Spike said in disgust. Sure Angel had a soul again, but he'd lose it the next time he did something naughty with the slayer. Dawn would never forget how afraid she was at the beginning of the summer, kidnapped and left to Drusilla.

He got a swift black-eye for his trouble but managed to keep a good grip on Dawn. By now, Dawn had calmed herself, although she didn't look too eager to leave the safety of his arms anytime soon. "Don't hit Spike," she demanded. "He's my best friend. The look of horror on the slayer's face was the most amusing thing that Spike had seen in a very long time.

"No, he isn't, Dawnie. He's a vampire and evil."

"So is he," Dawn pointed to Angel.

"He's a good vampire."

"So is Spike."

"No, Dawn. Angel has a soul and that's what makes him good."

"Spike has me and I make him good," the youngest Summers woman defied.

"Make up your mind, Slayer," Spike grinned. "We're either all evil, including your boy-toy, or we're not."

The slayer chose a new argument. "Best friends have something in common, Dawn. You don't have anything in common with Spike."

"Yes, I do. We both hate Angel. We both think that Drusilla is nuts. We both like little marshmallows in our hot chocolate. We-"

The slayer leapt on that. "You know that those things are monkey brains, right?"

"Ewww!"

Buffy took advantage of the distraction to grab Dawn and shove her into her mother's arms. "Now where is Willow and Xander?"


End file.
